Almost Heaven
by WhiteLunaNight
Summary: He was going to get his baby girl back, no matter the cost. Final installment of the It was in April series


Almost Heaven

_Hello again! This is the final installment of the It was in April series. I might do some drabbles in this universe by request but for now, this is the end of this series. There is some violence at the begining of this story so be careful. _

_Be warned! I cried lot writing this so, have some tissues at hand!_

_I hope you enjoy!_

It had taken months. Months of endless hunting and interrogating and being apart from the only two people he cared about in the universe. It had taken all his willpower not to break down the moment he was away from them. But he couldn't. He had to do this for them. If he didn't do it, then nobody would.

When he had finally managed to find the bastards that had taken their daughter, he had to restrain himself from storming the damn place, with no regards of anything, but he couldn't do that. Not with his child's life on the line. He found out that the people that had taken her where the same people that his brother friends where trying to (unsuccessfully) take down. He had considered to call them but thought better of it. They would never trust him, and he didn't need their assistance, but he had an emergency call button just in case. He hated to admit that he needed it, he was the mighty Loki after all, but he would cast aside his pride if it meant that his child would get back home to their family. For an entire month, he planned every single step that he had to make and every outcome that could happen, he didn't share his brother's _tactics_ after all. He memorized the guards schedule, when they would change shifts, when they would take brakes. He also noticed that they received supplies at the start of every week. He decided to disable one of the guards and take his place. He would then sneak into the building and find his daughter. When he did, he would then use a teletransportation spell and leave the place. He was going to call his brothers team and leave and anonyms tip of the location of the place so they could take care of the rest, if he left anything standing.

As is life, things didn't go as planned.

They found him out. It surprised him that they even did in the first place, but he forgot about the thermal cameras and, not for the first time, he cursed his frost giant heritage.

There were a lot of them, but nothing he couldn't handle. The guards were pathetic in their training and their weapons didn't even scratch his armour. He fought every single one of them and left none of them alive. They had taken his daughter. He would show no mercy tonight.

He had analysed the compound layout and knew were every single lab, containment cell and coffee pot were. Nothing escaped him. He even knew were the underground labs were, labs that even some of the guards didn't know existed. That was were he was headed. He knew that was where she was detained.

He was getting nearer; he could feel it. There was more security in the underground labs, something only needed if you were guarding something important.

He didn't look any one of the people he killed in the eye. He didn't care about them. He relished and took joy when he heard their gurgled cries. He rejoiced in their suffering. They took his daughter. He would show no mercy tonight.

He killed the fleeing scientist. He killed the armed guards. He did not let anyone past him. They would pay. They took his daughter. He would show no mercy tonight.

He kicked and he sliced, and he stabbed and he _ran_. He ran as if his life depended on it, because it did. She was his life. Since the first moment he held her in his arms, she had become his life, and he would not let them hurt her any further. He would show no mercy tonight.

He was surrounded, with more coming in. He was so close; he could _feel _it. He could feel her, his little girl. He looked around himself. Guards, heavily armed (not that it would do them any good) and defending a scientist. A scientist who held a squirming lump covered with cloth. He had a terrified look in his eyes, and he would have relished in it if it weren't for the fact that he was holding his daughter. Terrified humans were dangerous people.

One of the guards gave an order and suddenly there was the sound of gunfire. The guards that were surrounding him shot their weapons simultaneously. He put a barrier around himself and waited for them to recharge. That was enough time for the scientist to run. He watched in rage as the scientist ran to the end of the hall. He was so close. _She was so close, and he was losing her. _

He screamed. A scream full of rage and anguish. _He would not let him get away. That man would pay._ The barrier that was around him exploded into shards, shooting them into every direction, wounding the guards. He didn't take time into checking if any of them were alive, he didn't give a damn about them, he only cared about her.

There was no way out were the scientist could have escaped, he knew that. He had memorized the compound's layout; he knew there was no way out. With a sudden calmness that came with cornering your prey, he walked. His footsteps echoed throughout the silent labs, his daggers dragging and leaving scratches on the wall. He would make sure the scientist last moments would be filled with fear.

He reached the end of the hallway, the door to the room closed. Blood dripped down his forehead and into his eyebrow. He didn't know if it was his. He didn't care. With a bloodied hand he opened the door.

Inside the room was a metal crib and laboratory equipment: syringes, a refrigerator with formula and morphine and, he realized with horror and disgust, surgical tools. The rage inside him flared and burned to a great degree. With burning eyes, he looked at the scene before him. His daughter, sitting in the metal crib, crying, the crazed scientist pointing a gun at her head with a shaky hand.

Terrified humans were dangerous.

He stopped in his tracks, planning his next move. The scientist talked, but he didn't hear a word. He was calculating every move he could make without the scientist shooting his daughter. His mind came up with a dozen solutions, each one with a risk of its own. But he only cared about his daughter's safety, his own be damned if it meant she could live.

The scientist was getting confident with his silence. The man started talking about all the valuable information the experimentation on _his baby girl_ had given them. The man kept on talking, waving his hands about. Loki waited for the right moment. He didn't have to wait long. The second the gun was pointed at him, he acted. He shot his hand out and, in classic Loki style, a dagger shot out of his hand and impaled itself in the scientist neck. The hand that was holding the gun immediately dropped it and came towards the man's neck, were the knife was. Blood came spurting out of the wound and out of his mouth. The man dropped to his knees and Loki stepped towards him. The man looked up at him, fear clear in his face. Loki stared him down and not a moment later, a glazed look came over the scientist eyes and he dropped to the ground. The last thing the man saw was Loki's burning eyes.

Loki stepped over the man's body, blood steadily coming out of the wound.

He saw his baby girl, sitting inside the metal crib. He hurried over to her and met her eyes, the same colour as yours. For the first time in a year he smiled. His baby's cries stopped, and she just looked at him. Her eyes were wide and tears stained her face, but she was _there. He had found her. He had found his baby girl._

Loki went to pick her up, but something hit his back. Hard. He stumbled forward, hitting the crib. He felt blood pouring out of the wound. He quickly turned around and sent a knife flying towards the guard's head. The guard immediately fell lifeless to the floor, the alien weapon in his hands still hot from the shot.

The weapon was of chitauri technology, made specifically from heat, the one thing he couldn't heal from. Loki fell to his knees, eye to eye with his daughter who was still trapped in her crib. He passed a finger through the bars and touched her cheek.

He knew he wasn't going to make it. The thought of never seeing you or his daughter again almost made him cry.

He reached into his pocket and pressed the button. The button would send information and the location about the compound, along with an urgent message to his brother's team telling them to come at once.

Loki didn't know how long it would take them.

His daughter's eyes started pooling with tears and whimpers left her mouth. He didn't hesitate to stand up and pick her up in his arms. The pain in his back didn't let him stand with her in his arms for long so he sat back down against the crib and placed her on his lap. She immediately cuddled up to his chest and he felt happiness. A happiness he had missed since the day they had taken her.

She was rubbing her eyes with her tiny fists, but tears still streamed down her face. Before she was taken, he would use his magic to stop her from crying, but he was saving all his energy to trying to stay awake. He _needed _to stay awake, at least until his brother came. He remembered that she liked listening to your voice. He remembered you singing her to sleep. He liked staying in the doorway and just watching you interact with her. How you held her, how you looked at her, it was as if she had hung the stars and moon herself. It was how he looked at the both of you. He looked down at the little thing in his lap and took her tiny fists in his hands. He met her tearful gaze.

"Hello, little one." She looked up at him in wonder. "Do you remember me? I hope you do. I'm your father." He smiled gently down at her. "Do you remember your mother? I'm sure you do. I remember how fascinated you looked every time you heard her sing, and I don't blame you. She does sing wonderfully. You tried to sing along with her a few times. You have a lovely voice, my sweet girl." He leaned down and kissed her tiny nose. Her tears had stopped coming and she even managed a small giggle at his act. Her laugh made his heart soar. He continued talking.

"She sang different songs every night. She never repeated the same song. It's fascinating how many songs she has memorized in that mind of hers. It's what attracted me to your mother in the first place, her mind. And now she has me wrapped around her fingers. And I don't mind it. Don't tell your uncle Thor I said that. I would never hear the end of it." Loki stared down at the small hands he held in his larger ones. "Your mother never got to meet him." He didn't know how he felt about that. He ran his thumb over the back of her hand. He saw that her eyes were starting to close. He knew she wouldn't sleep if he didn't continue talking.

"There is one song that she sings every day. Some days it would be your mother favourite song, but they keep changing every time I question her about it. She has a beautiful voice, your mother." He started remembering your voice. How beautiful it was. He would never tire from hearing it. He stared in front of him and he could see you. You were standing by the doorway with a smile on your face. He knew you weren't real, but Norn's, how he wished you were. You walked towards where he was sitting with your little girl. You knelt down in front of him and cupped his cheek. He realized, quite suddenly, that he was crying. Tears were streaming down his face and he couldn't stop them. The pain in his back was intensifying. You wiped his tears.

"It's time" He shook his head.

"I can't. I must wait for Thor. He's the one how is going to take our little girl away from this place. He's the one who's going to bring her to you. Please, love. Not now." You smiled down at him.

"Can I wait with you?" With tears streaming down his face, he agreed. You moved to sit beside him but didn't touch. The baby snuggled closer to his chest.

"Sing for us, my love. Would you?" He looked into your eyes when he asked. He knew you weren't real, but he pretended that you were there. You hummed a nameless melody. You didn't have a song in mind. He concentrated on the notes trying to distract himself from the pain coming from his back. Blood was pooling under him. He focused his seidr on stopping the blood flow. He knew it wouldn't last but he hoped it would be enough until Thor arrived.

You sang. You didn't stop singing, not for one moment.

It felt like weeks. Maybe it was only a day before he heard sounds from above ground.

"It's those blasted Avengers." He said weakly. It was getting progressively harder for him to stay awake.

"Don't say that. They are nice people, and that Captain America?" He looked at you with an annoyed look. You smiled cheekily. "All I'm going to say is that he has nice _assets_" He tried to roll his eyes but even that hurt.

"They better be quick. I'm getting tired of waiting." You smiled at him and passed your hand through his hair. He closed his eyes at the sensation but opened them again for fear of falling asleep. Sweat was dripping down his brow, getting into his eye. He blinked it away. He distracted himself by counting the seconds it took them to get down to where he was. It was exactly 321 seconds it took for them to send someone down to his level. He heard the footsteps creeping down the corridor. He tried to speak up but what came out was a rasp. It seemed to do the trick because the footsteps hurried. When blonde hair appeared through the doorway, he was never happier to see his brother. Thor's eyes widened and he managed a smirk, although he wasn't sure if it came across as one. Pain flared from his back and he closed his eyes trying to keep quiet. He breathed in through his teeth and he heard Thor's footsteps coming closer. He opened his eyes when he felt his brother's hand on his shoulder. Sweat dripped into his eyes. He could tell that his brother was scared. He knew he was not a pretty sight. With the last strength he had, he gave his baby girl to Thor.

"Thor," he rasped, "This is my daughter." Thor's eyes widened in shock. He was holding the baby clumsily, as one would hold a ball. If it weren't for the pain and the circumstances, he would tease his brother mercilessly about it. Before the blonde could make any questions, he cut him off. He didn't have much time left.

"Take her back to her mother. She lives on the outskirts of Portland, Maine. If you remember any of the lessons mother taught us, you will know which house it is." For good measure he gave him the address of your shared house. He waited for his brother to nod before he continued.

"Tell her I had to go into hiding. Do Not tell her the truth brother." Thor was going to protest but, again, he cut him off. "Don't lie to yourself brother. It is only by sheer force of will that I am still talking, and that's going to end soon."

"We could save you! Just hang on a little longer. The others will come soon, and they are going to help you or so help me I will"

"You'll what Thor? Smash them with your hammer? That'll do no one any good. Besides I am the villain in their story. How many heroes do you know who would save the villain? In the many battles you've one you never helped the enemy. What makes you think they will be any different?" He couldn't bare to look into his brother tear filled eyes. He looked away from them and stared at his sleeping little girl. A smile made his way unto his face and he reached out a trembling hand to caress his chubby cheek.

"Swear you will protect them." He was breathing hard now, and the edges of his vision were going dark. It was almost time. "Swear it Thor" He asked desperately when he didn't get an answer. He looked into his brother eyes, the desperation in his tone matching the one in his eyes. The tears that were in his brother's eyes streamed down as he nodded. "I need to hear you say it brother."

"I swear it Loki. I swear I will protect them with my life." It was then that his daughter decided to wake up. They both looked down at her.

"Good." He said weakly. He felt your hand holding his and his vision went dark. The last thing he heard were the sobs of his brother and the shrill cry of his baby girl.

_Norns how he will miss them. _


End file.
